Elgin police should not have charged woman in hotel battery
May 30, 2012 7:16PM
Updated: July 2, 2012 9:05AM
Elgin police should not have charged woman in hotel battery
Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago (SWOP-Chicago) strongly opposes the decision in Elgin to file criminal charges against a woman who contacted law enforcement when her life was in danger.
SWOP emphasizes that this decision could greatly affect whether sex workers reach out for protection when in danger. SWOP also expresses disappointment at the silence of activists against sexual assault and exploitation and for women’s rights in light of this case.
Finally, SWOP hopes this case will highlight the dangerous situation that criminalization of prostitution puts individuals in the sex trade in and will lead to new legislation that grants individual sex workers amnesty from prosecution when they contact law enforcement in states of duress.
Kim Brandmire, 58, of Elgin, was charged on a felony count of aggravated battery and misdemeanor charges of solicitation of a sexual act and battery. According to police, Brandmire got a room with a female Elgin resident on Thursday, May 3. He then allegedly paid her to have sex with him more than 30 times before Sunday. When she refused to engage in another sex act, he choked her, according to police reports. The woman was also arrested and given a misdemeanor charge for prostitution.
The Elgin Police Department decision to file criminal charges against an individual who contacted them in a state of duress is problematic because it sends a message to all individuals in the sex industry that they cannot rely on police protection, even in situations where their life is at risk.
If we do not react to this incident, we are enabling a victim-blaming culture that makes all women fear that if they are doing something that some may see as wrong, transgressive or immoral, they are ultimately responsible for violence perpetrated against them.
The main message we want heard is that until all prostitutes are safe, all women are in danger. Last year, we saw the rise-up against the Toronto safety officer for stating that if women did not dress like sluts, they would not be asking to be raped — which resulted in the international movement of “Slut Walk.” There is no acceptable reason that once a woman says no it should be seen as anything but that — NO means NO regardless of any prior agreement!
The Elgin victim knew her life was in imminent danger and she felt threatened enough to call the police, who she knew were not on her side but knew her life depended on it. If a college student called the police because a man attempted to strangle her when she refused sex, they would send in a SWAT team. But because the Elgin woman accepted money in exchange for sexual acts, she was charged as a criminal and publicly named. Her right to privacy was revoked, and her information is now accessible to law enforcement and the media.
Does she not deserve the same treatment that rape victims do? Where are our rape advocates and women’s rights advocates? Is she not as human as the rest of us?
We demand amnesty from prosecution for sex workers who contact law enforcement when their own safety is in jeopardy; and we ask advocates against sex trafficking, sexual assault and domestic violence to support us in our efforts.
Despite decades of criminalization and efforts to eliminate demand for commercial sex, the industry continues to exist, and individuals continue to work in the industry. The only way to ensure the safety and well-being of those individuals is to ensure they have access to social services and law enforcement protection — and the only way to do this is to decriminalize employment in the sex industry, or at least make them feel safe when reaching out to the police when their safety is threatened.
Kris Morgan
info@swop-chicago.org
Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago (SWOP-Chicago) is a grass-roots organization dedicated to improving the lives of current and former sex workers in the Chicago area, on and off of the job.
